|
|
Post by steev on Jul 29, 2013 1:11:03 GMT -5
Harvested my first of this season, Thai Purple Podded. These are sparsely-productive, but tolerant of the climate on my farm, as are their cousins, cowpeas.
Regrettably, the only P. vulgaris variety that hasn't wimped out is Dragon's Tongue, which is quite productive, but thoroughly insipid.
|
|
|
|
Post by raymondo on Jul 30, 2013 4:45:22 GMT -5
I find Dragon's Tongue deliciously sweet and juicy. It's one of my favourites. Might be the growing conditions. We generally have coolish summers with daytime temps hovering around 25°C (~77°F) and nights between 12°C (~54°F) and 15°C (~59°F).
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on Jul 30, 2013 10:32:51 GMT -5
Could be; it's way hotter on the farm.
|
|
|
|
Post by zeedman on Jul 31, 2013 1:03:16 GMT -5
Only growing two long beans this year; Taiwan Black, and a red-seeded, very long cultivar of Chinese origin given to me in trade. Saving seed from both, to replace my older stocks. It's been a cool summer until recently, both are just beginning to bloom now.
I had planned to grow two more pole varieties, and a very early & productive bush variety that I grow almost every year. But they were to go in my rural garden, which was impassible & untillable until the beginning of July due to above-normal rainfall. Too bad, because long beans love wet weather - as long as it is warm. The weeds sure loved it, it will take several more tillings to get the perennial weeds in that plot down to tolerable levels.
|
|
|
|
Post by ferdzy on Jul 31, 2013 12:11:25 GMT -5
I'd like to give long beans another try. I grew out Red Noodle for a few years. It was very marginal here, but after growing it for 2 or 3 years I was getting much better results. Unfortunately, I didn't think it tasted that great. I've had green long beans that I thought were the most delicious beans ever. Anybody have a green long bean variety to recommend for flavour?
|
|
|
|
Post by zeedman on Jul 31, 2013 12:35:47 GMT -5
Ferdzy, there are several that I could recommend... but taste is such a subjective thing. I, for example, love the somewhat nutty flavor of "Red Noodle", and the fact that it freezes well. What qualities are you looking for in flavor? And how warm is your growing season?
|
|
|
|
Post by raymondo on Jul 31, 2013 16:04:59 GMT -5
By long beans, are people referring to Vigna unguiculata, sister to cowpeas? It didn't occur to me until Ferdzy mention Red Noodle.
|
|
|
|
Post by blueadzuki on Jul 31, 2013 17:11:17 GMT -5
I had two attempted long bean types planted in my stump garden, both taken from overripe pods collected in Chinatown from the long beans being sold for stir frying. One type had pods that were unusually fat for a long bean with sides that were extremely rugose (ridged and wrinkled)with seeds that were white with a black eye. The other was a little thinner (though still on the fat side for a yard long)with seed that was a ying yang of white and mottled pink on red. Both had pods that were whitish green (not as white as my wax pod cowpea, but whiter than a green bean Unfortunately the rampage of the squirrels ate them all, so no ability to report on how they did for me. Well I THINK they ate them all. I currently have two cowpea plants producing pods in the stump but since that was also heavily sown with non-yard long cowpeas, which type they are is a mystery. The pods one the older one (the other just shed it's first flower) seem to top out at about 9-12 inches if you pulled them out (they both are heavily hooked, so that's a guesstimate) a bit long for a standard, a bit short for a yardlong. they look a LITTLE like the second one, though a touch darker and I don't remember the second one having a red tip to the pods or that little "bulge" some cowpeas get on their pod tips (these do). I suppose the real answer will come at the end of the season when I see the seed shape, if they are short seeds, they're probably standards, long kidney shaped seeds, probably yardlongs. Over this years hunts I was unable to find more of the first type of pods. However I managed to secure a moderate amount of the second, so next year I can try again I guess (provided at least some of the seed is mature enough to be viable)
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on Jul 31, 2013 19:25:15 GMT -5
Yes, Vigna unguiculata.
|
|
|
|
Post by ferdzy on Jul 31, 2013 20:56:15 GMT -5
The ones I have really thought delicious are ones I have eaten in Chinese restaurants, so I have NO idea what the variety would be, beyond the fact that they were green and quite skinny. Probably a pretty standard variety. I will just have to keep looking, and see what I can get my hands on.
|
|
